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Augustus Walker
|serviceyears= 1931–1970 |rank= Air Chief Marshal |branch= |commands= |unit=No. 50 Squadron RAF Syerston RAF North Luffenham RAF Pocklington RAF Coningsby RAF Flying College No. 1 Group Flying Training Command |battles= World War II |awards= Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (GCB) Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) Distinguished Service Order Distinguished Flying Cross Air Force Cross Croix de Guerre Légion d'honneur. |laterwork=Royal Air Forces Association Rugby Union }} Air Chief Marshal Sir George Augustus (Gus) Walker GCB CBE DSO DFC AFC Master of Arts was a Second World War bomber pilot and jet aircraft pioneer, later Inspector-General of the RAF and RAF Air Chief Marshal. Early life Walker was born 24 August 1912 in West Garforth, Leeds and studied at St. Bees School in Cumberland, and St Catharine's College, Cambridge.Oxford Dictionary of National Biography accessed 27 May 2009 He played rugby for Yorkshire & England twice in 1939. RAF career He joined the Royal Air Force from University in 1934.Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation - Air Chief Marshal Sir Augustus Walker In November 1940 during the Second World War he was appointed Officer Commanding No. 50 Squadron in which role he earned the Distinguished Service Order and Distinguished Flying Cross before moving on to become Station Commander at RAF Syerston in April 1942. While working as Station Commander at RAF Syerston he rushed in a fire truck from the control tower to a taxiing Lancaster bomber when he saw it was on fire. He then tried to remove incendiary bombs from under the bomb bay in the hope that he could prevent a 4,000Ib bomb from exploding, but it detonated and he lost his right arm as a result. Returning to active service with an artificial arm, he was referred to by personnel as the one-armed bandit.Proc. RAF Historical Society August 1987 pages 68-74 In February 1945 he was appointed Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters No. 4 Group and went on to receive the Croix de Guerre and Légion d'honneur. After the War he was appointed Deputy Director of Operational Training at the Air Ministry before taking up the role of Senior Air Staff Officer for the Rhodesian Air Training Group in 1948. In 1951 he became Officer Commanding RAF Coningsby and in 1954 he was made Commandant of the RAF Flying College at Manby where he developed flying techniques for jet aircraft: he received the Air Force Cross in 1956 for his work in this and the techniques for flights over the North Pole. He became Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group in October 1956, Chief Information Officer at the Air Ministry in 1959 and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Flying Training Command in 1961. He held the post of Inspector-General of the RAF from 1964 to 1966 when he became Deputy Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Central Europe. He continued his interest in rugby, acting as a referee and being President of the Rugby Union in 1965-6. He retired in 1970. Following his retirement he carried out various voluntary activities, notably for the Royal Air Forces Association, including the role of President. Family On 5 September 1942 he married Dorothy Brenda Wilcox (who survived him) and they had a son and daughter. He died 11 December 1986 in King's Lynn, Norfolk. He had one brother called John James Rolph Walker, born in 1909. References *http://www.pocklingtonhistory.com/archives/people/memories/guswalker/index.php *http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafrugbyunion/history/his19301940.cfm?start=1&viewmedia=4#pageContent |- |- Category:Royal Air Force air marshals Category:Royal Air Force rugby union players Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Category:Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Category:Recipients of the Croix de guerre (France) Category:Légion d'honneur recipients Category:English aviators Category:British World War II pilots Category:England international rugby union players Category:People educated at St. Bees School Category:Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge Category:1912 births Category:1986 deaths Category:Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Category:Yorkshire County RFU players Category:People from Garforth Category:People from Yorkshire